By William Lloyd-George

Malian rebels do not have the support of most ethnic groups in the north of the country. / William Lloyd-George/IPS

NIAMEY, Apr 30 (IPS) – Since January, various groups of Tuareg rebels in Mali have come together in an attempt to administer a new northern state called Azawad.

While this was announced on Apr. [...]

Aline Jenckel interviews SAMUEL KISSI, executive coordinator of Curious Minds, a youth advocacy organisation in Ghana

Samuel Kissi, executive coordinator of Curious Minds, a youth advocacy organisation in Ghana that works to promote a development agenda for youth. / Courtesy of UNFPA

UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (IPS) – With a whopping 40 percent of Ghana's population [...]

By Charlton Doki

The conflict in South Sudan has more than doubled the price of basic commodities, making it difficult for many here to afford. / Charlton Doki/IPS

JUBA, Apr 29 (IPS) – As thousands of people flee the conflict in South Sudan’s northern border states, increasing numbers have also been forced to leave their homes [...]

By Fulgence Zamblé
ABIDJAN, Apr 29 (IPS) – Rebel leaders in Guinea-Bissau have released the country's prime minister and interim president, who were arrested in the country's Apr. 12 coup, and have flown them to Côte d'Ivoire.

The release of Carlos Gomes Junior and Raimundo Pereira is an encouraging response by the junta to demands by the [...]

By Rebecca Murray

Young militia members in Kufra. / Rebecca Murray/IPS.

KUFRA, Libya, Apr 28 (IPS) – The recent outbreak of violence between the largely segregated Zwai and Tabu tribes in Libya’s remote, Saharan town of Kufra shattered the uneasy calm that held since last February’s clashes, resulting in more than 100 deaths. The clashes illustrate [...]

By Mustapha Dumbuya*

Saffa Momoh Lahai lost his father in Sierra Leone’s civil war and said justice prevailed when former Liberian President Charles Taylor was convicted. / Mustapha Dumbuya/IPS

FREETOWN, Apr 27 (IPS) – Saffa Momoh Lahai was just two years old when his father was killed during Sierra Leone’s civil war. Rebels attacked their family [...]

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 26 (IPS) – The United Nations is rejoicing over the conviction of a former head of state for committing crimes against humanity, specifically involving the recruitment of child soldiers.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone Thursday found Charles Taylor, a former president of Liberia, guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes, [...]

By Mustapha Dumbuya

Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier and UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War worries about the country’s former child soldiers. / Mustapha Dumbuya

FREETOWN, Apr 25 (IPS) – When the verdict against Liberia’s former President Charles Taylor for war crimes in Sierra Leone is handed down on Thursday, it will be of [...]

By William Lloyd-George

Several of the children in Abala camp are visibly malnourished, and NGO workers are concerned about potential epidemics. / William Lloyd-George/IPS

ABALA, Niger, Apr 25 (IPS) – It was the middle of the day when Tabisou, 72, suddenly saw people from her town of Amderamboukane in Mali fleeing for their lives. Her family [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al Jazeera
DOHA, Qatar, Apr 23 (IPS) – Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, has pledged not to negotiate with South Sudan amid reports of fresh air attacks on his country's southern neighbour.

The renewed tensions come as South Sudan's 10-day occupation of the oil town of Heglig has left parts of the town blood-soaked and [...]

By Souleymane Gano
DAKAR, Apr 21 (IPS) – Six West African heads of state will attend a regional summit in Guinea on Monday, to discuss the situation in neighbouring Guinea and Cape Verde, where an Apr. 12 coup d'état aborted presidential elections. The Economic Community of West African States sent a delegation to Bissau, the capital, [...]

By Linus Atarah

Ken Menkhaus, political science professor at Davidson College in North Carolina, blames the USA Patriot Act for blocking aid to Somali famine victims / Linus Atarah/IPS

HELSINKI, Apr 19 (IPS) – When war-torn Somalia was also ravaged by a drought-induced famine last year, which killed tens of thousands and displaced over a million [...]

By Jake Lippincott

Thousands of Tunisians have protested against a government ban on street demonstrations. / Jake Lippincott/IPS.

TUNIS, Apr 20 (IPS) – Thousands of centre-left demonstrators violently clashed with police in street battles that completely shut down central Tunis last week, left scores seriously injured and underlined the persistent divisions in Tunisian society.

The demonstrations were [...]

By Soumaila T. Diarra

Timbuktu is one of the northern Malian cities seized by Tuareg and Islamist rebels. / Emilio Labrador/CC BY 2.0

BAMAKO, Apr 19 (IPS) – Cheick Modibo Diarra has been named interim prime minister of Mali as a transitional administration takes shape, to guide the country back to full constitutional government. But despite [...]

By William G. Moseley*
GABORONE, Botswana, Apr 18 (IPS) – On Apr. 6, Tuareg rebels in the West African city of Timbuktu unilaterally declared their independence from Mali and announced the birth of a new nation called Azawad. The declaration was widely ignored or condemned by neighbouring African states and the international community.

However, considering the arbitrary [...]